From the Very First Moment I Laid Eyes on You
by Sakura Moon
Summary: Ryou's thoughts on a certain strawberry as St. Valentine's day draws near. RyouxIchigo
1. My Thoughts

**From the Very First Moment that I Laid Eyes on You…**

**AN: **Ok, this is my first Mew Mew fic. It's going to be short like about at least three chapters long. Also, I using somewhat a mixed of anime and manga along with american and japanese version. But hey, they're nearly the same. RyouxIchigo

Note: This is from Ryou's POV.

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I remember the first time I saw her. She was just on a date with her crush when a perisite attacked them. When it was about to attack her, I only did one thing. I saved her. From that moment, I knew that she was something special. I did not acknowledge about that until later on, by then it was too late for me. Turning back to the situation, I remember her falling. I also remember seeing a mark on her thigh. I guess that makes me sound perverted. But it was that mark that helped me idenitfy the person she would become; the leader of the Tokyo Mew Mew team. From that moment when she first transformed, we bickered like an old married couple. 

I laughed as I imagined her reaction. I love it whenever she gets nervous or excitied. Those wildcat ears and occasionally, tail, would often popped. I love feeling the softness of her ears and how her cheeks turned to a light shade of red. It matches her hair and her eyes now that I think about it.

Outside I am considered to be a "cold, rude jerk" to her. Or at least that's what she oftened muttered under her breathe. I think she thought that I wouldn't hear that comment, but she is so wrong. Everytime I heard that, it pains me. I didn't showed to them how much those words hurted me. I couldn't tear down the mask that I wore. That indifference, uncaring, unemotional mask that I would portray. My brown-haired co-worker, Keiichiro,knows who I am. But that girl, everytime when I see her or talk to her, I want to tear away this mask that I wear. If you're wondering why I haven't done so. It's because everytime from those girl talks and various comments, she would often talk about her crush. Masaya. That very name angers me, yet he is a nice boy.

There are times when I let down my mask, only I put a difference mask which is kind of a tube. It allows some of the feelings that I have for her to leak out while maintaing my "robotic" side.

_The blond teenager smiled._

I remember the event where Café Mew Mew decided to host a party. I hired a pianoist, Miss Rivera. I also remember the first time when I saw the dress. The dress that was designed for her. I knew for the moment when I saw the dress, I can almost picture her surprise reaction. That night would be the greatest night that I have ever live, if it weren't for that stupid alien to come and crash the party. That night, I danced with my precious strawberry. Though I got my foot in pain because of that, but it was worth it having her body near mine and the blush she had.

_The blue eye teenager stood in his room._

I can't tell how many times she has walked in on me, most of the time I was shirtless. Because of that, she isn't like the other girls. There's something about her. Something that makes me attracted to her.

I wish that someday, I could tell her how I feel about her and pray that someday, she would return those feelings to me.

_The young man sighed and closed his journal.

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**S. Moon**

**Ok...once again. After a great tutorial from The Blackberry. I fixed the naming problem! 7.6.05**


	2. Valentine's Eve

**From the Very First Moment I Laid Eyes on You...**

**AN:** Ok, so all I changed was the names (such as Mark/Masaya , Elliot/Ryou and Zoey/Ichigo)

Chapter 2

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**The next day…**

It's morning. Another day, another time. Everyday is the same. Ichigo comes in late. I scold her, tell her to get back to work, a perisite, sometimes Ichigo came barging in my room without knocking; yelling at me to give her a raise and I would always give her the same answer.

Why didn't I give her a raise? I think everyone can tell that out of all the girls, Ichigo is the one that works the hardest. So why am I being strict on her you ask? I guess this all goes back to when my parents died. I never really care or love anyone since my parents. Meeting Ichigo stirred up those feelings; those feelings that I tried my best to contain. But he knows. Damn my co-worker. Damn him for his observation and perception. When he first mentioned it to me, I denied it. I don't want to face that pain…that pain of loosing someone that you cared or loved to something. For my parents, it was the grim reaper. For my strawberry, it was him. The boy whom she idolizes and from what I heard, the majority of the school's population.

Why am I not fighting for her love? I guess for several reasons. One, I was in denial while this was happening, so it's too late for me to turn the clock back. Two, I don't want to see her reaction when I profess my love for her because last time I checked, she stills considered me to be a "cold jerk of a boss who never gives her a raise for her work". Three. Whenever Masaya arrives, whether it's his name or in person, I saw how her eyes lighted up whenver the name "Masaya" was mentioned. How her spirits rose and she always does her performance to the best. I remember of that spirit when she joined her school's gymnastic team and got the team to be in second place. It was all for Masaya. It was all for him. How could I even think of competing against a guy who makes her be who she wants to be, that fire which is there suddenly turns into a burst of flames.

I saw how she smiled at him. She would never smiled like that at me. Heck, I'm lucky enough that I could kiss her whenever she turns into a kitten. But, I want to kiss her because she wants to, not because she wants to be in her human form.

How could I fight for her love when it is already obvious that she's heads over heel in love with him! As long as I don't say it, I won't know for sure that she rejected me. That pain could never come back to me.

But, that pain is coming back to me. Alas, there is nothing that I can do right now but be the person who she sees.

_Ryou watched through the windows and heads back down. On his way down the stairs, he overheardIchigo asking Keiichiro if she could used his kitchen to make some chocolates._

Chocolates? What ever for?

_Slipping back into his room, Ryou looked at his calender._

Oh right. Tommorrow is Valentine's Day.

_With this thought, his eyes darken. His hair covering his eyes as he slowly walked to the window, facing the sky._

She's probably making **him** chocolates no doubt it.

_Running his fingers through his hair,Ryou sighed. _

I wonder if I did something bad in my previous life? Maybe I had an affair that I wasn't suppose to have. This might explains why my love life is like this. A nice shower will do. Hmm…better tell Wesley to bring some food up since I do not want to be in the Café where she might be excited over giving her chocolate to Masaya.

_Taking off his shirt, Ryou started to head toward the bathroom. The door burst._

_"Ryou!"_

_Strawberry scent filled through his room. Crossing his arms across his chest. "Why must you always barged in? Don't they teach you how to knock or your strawberry sized brain couldn't handle the lecture?"_

There goes my big mouth. It's a wonder that she can even stand in my presence for so long. But, I can't reveal my feelings for her. I already know that they will get crush into tiny particles. Besides, I have a feeling that if I started acting nice to her, my little strawberry might think that aliens had abducted me or this was Kish's doing. Though, there are some times that we did have our moments. I never did forget that ball we held. How she crushed my toes, yet the feeling of her body near mine gives me the happiness. Only if it was for a short moment. I never did forget her reaction that was displayed all over her face. Yet, I have a feeling that she might thought that when I flirted with her or come on to her, it's only because she was my "first" experiment or I have my motives. That is partly true, but my real reason is just to be near her, without us bickering.

"_Why are you always mean to me? Why me! Why am I the only one who's getting the harsh treatment from you!" Ichigo yelled._

I rolled my eyes. I can't tell her why I'm always mean to her and not to the other girls. Time to change the subject.

"_What do you want?"_

_Her eyes scanned the room. They lingered over the plush that I received from Ketasu. That plush resembled my "cat" form._

"_Well..I…" A blush started to appear once she realized that she had walked on Ryou, half-naked again._

Although that blush just makes her even more adorable. I have to keep up my mask.

"_Well? What is it that you want!"_

I guess she didn't like my tone because her eyes flared up.

"_Here's what I want. I WANT A RAISE! It's not fair that the other girls get the same pay as I do, but I always do more work around here. I want to get pay for the work that I did. I want a raise! And I won't take NO for an answer." Ichigo yelled, steam going out of her ears._

"_Hmm…let me think right after I take my shower." With that said,Ryou left an angry strawberry mew._

Knowing her, she won't stay that long since closing time is close and she has to go home.

_Sinking in the tub, he closed his eyes. Right after he was done showering, he laid on his bed._

Well, I guess I should leave. The more time I sleep, the longer my dreams will be. Dreams of what could happen.

"_Goodnight my little wildcat...," Ryou whispered into the moonlight as darkness claimed him._

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Elliot/Ryou: Why must I endure the torture and pain when it's Valentine's Day?

Sakura M.: (laughs) Be patience. You will get your rewards. Not all what it seems.

Zoey/Ichigo: Do I even know how to make chocolates?

Sakura M.: In my fic, you do.

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**AN:** Hmm...what plot should I do? Any suggestions? Also, if you're going to send a review, make sure that it's polite. After all, if you don't like it, then don't review at all.

Ok, So the names are somewhat a mixed of the Mew Mew Power and Tokyo Mew Mew. If anyone would like, can they please help me?

**7.6.05 - Ok...jap. names are a bit harder so I'm just going to use first names. **


	3. Great, it's the day of Love

**From the Very First Moment I Laid Eyes on You…**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or the characteristics. Just this storyline.

Chapter 3

**Valentine's Day **

Today was awfully busy than usual. The café was packed with couples. I'm guessing that the girls forced their boyfriends to come here because when I passed by, many of them were shooting looks at me. Hey, it's not my fault that the protectors of Tokyo just happen to have a headquarter in a form of a café where it attracts many potential customers, particularly the female population.

"_Ryou have the other girls working. There's more customers on the way. Also I need some help back in the kitchen." Wipping the flour off of him, Keiichiro told_ _Ryou as more and more customers were lining up at the door._

Ryou nodded. Heading into the backroom, he said to the girls who were idling around. "Alright girls. That's enough. It's time to work because we got customers lining up."

That's weird. There's only four of them.

Ichigo is not here. I'm not surprise really. I guess she must be late because of spending some time with **him**.

_A redhead was seen trying to sneak in. "Ichigo!"_

_She stopped and looked up to him._

"_You're late…again." Ryou said in a demanding voice. "Can't you see that the café is full?"_

"_Sorry Ryou-kun. I was giving something to Masaya today." Ichigo said looking down in a guilty._

Just looking at her makes me want to rush over there and hug her. But I have to restrain myself. Lowering my voice, I said to her:

"Try not to do that again. Especially when the café is this full."

_Ichigo smiled. "No problemo! Let's get to work!"_

"_Alright. I'll be upstairs in my room if any of you girls need anything." Ryou said and started to walk up to his room._

Closing the door behind him, the young blonde sighed in discontent.

Damn that friar. What went in his brain when he created this? It has been so long. So long since I last celebrated Valentine's day. It was a day before my parents died. Ever since then, I had worked hard to achieve the impossible. The dream that my father worked on for the majority of that life, and how I continued that project. I never receieved any gifts, chocolates, cards or even a "Happy Valentine's Day" from someone. I was too busy focusing on completing my father's dream. Now that I have achieved that dream. What do I do now? I have already graduated high school and college. There's nothing left for me but to socialize and be a "typical teen". But…I don't know how to do that.

You see, having a college degree doesn't necessarily means that you're smart. College doesn't teach you how to commuicate and socialize. Especially when it comes to the girl of your dreams. What do you mean you ask. The rest of the girls that are in the Mew Mew team, I'm nice to them. But their leader…is a different case.

I guess you can tell by now that Ichigo and I don't see each other eye to eye. That was stated when we first met.

Running his fingers through his head, Ryou sighed.

Thinking about this not only makes my head hurts, but so does my heart. There's one thing better about cats, they don't have anything to worry about.

Closing his eyes, Ryou concentrated on his "Alto" form. Where Ryou once stood, now stood a male wildcat. The wildcat jumped on his bed and took a nap.

_A couple hours passed by and the café was closing. A door creaked open. Bits of red hair was shown. "Ryou-kun?" Ichigo called._

_She came into the room. Looking over Ryou's room, she noticed a stuffed cat on his bed. She grinned and walked near the bed. "You know. That stuffed animal looks like Ryou in his cat form. Well since he's not here, I better leave this."_

_Ichigo left a pink bundle and a letter._

_After she left, Ryou opened his eyes and changed into his human form. "Stuffed animal? She must be denser than I thought she is."_

_Opening the bundle, he saw two cats joined together by a heart sign. Looking at it, they were made out of white chocolate._

Why would she make this for me? Is this some sort of indication? I better hope she's not bribing me to give her a raise. I better read the note.

**_Dear Ryou-kun,_**

**_I'm guessing you must be surprise why you receive candy. If you're thinking that I'm bribing you for a raise, give me a break. I can do better than that seriously. So you must be wondering why I'm giving this to you. Well here's my explanation._**

**_Ryou-kun…_**

**_There are some times where you are an absolute jerk and cold-hearted toward me. In fact, most of the time you are. But there are some times that I remember, where you show me the nice side of you. The side that you would always show to the other girls, but…there's something hidden in that side. I can't tell what it is._**

**_Here it is…thank you. Thank you for everything Ryou-kun. Thank you for giving me that dress to the ball. Thank you for giving me a day off and I had it end where I had a date with Masaya. Thank you for allowing me to witness those moments where you care to me. I also want to thank you for the confidence you have given to me. True while this confidence only appears whenever I'm Mew Ichigo, but nevertheless thank you. _**

**_Neverthless? You must have been a huge influence on me._**

**_Please except this gift as a token of starting over. I know our first meeting wasn't very pleasant. Especially when you were being perverted looking down there (1). Don't think that I'm forgetting the time that we spent bickering and those moments where you show your kidness. I just want us to be friends._**

**_Hope to be your friend,_**

**_Ichigo_**

**_PS. So…does this mean I get a raise? ;) Just joking. (Though I really do want a raise…)_**

_Ryou put down the letter. He smiled, a smile that none of the girls or even Keiichiro has seen. Not since his parent's deaths had he smiled like that. Ryou hid the letter in a safe box along with the napkin that was used as a wrapping for the candy._

I guess I was wrong. There may be hope for me…

Ichigo, you're one of a kind.

_Ryou sat down on his bed and took a bite of the candy.

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**AN:**

**That's the end of "From the Very First Moment I Laid Eyes on You".**

**Disappointing that the story only ends in friendship? yes it was.**

**But!**

**For my next story, "An Unknown Love Letter" it's Ryou x Ichigo! Thanks to Angelic Ichigo for the plot line!**

**If you have any more suggestions, either email me or put it in a review. Who knows? I might write a story about it.**

**Also, I really don't know the japnese names of all the characters that well so if anyone would like, can they email me about it or im me at lady sapphire4 (aim).**

**Sakura Moon signing out.**


	4. Sakura Moon's little plead

**Sakura Moon Note:**

Ok, so I'm a little stump in my outline for my two coming soon stories _An Unknown Love Letter_ and _Second Thoughts_.

_**An Unknown Love Letter:  
**_Describe a place where you think it's romantic or something that fits into a category of romance, expressive feelings, secrets unraveled...something like that

**_Second Thoughts:_**  
I'm thinking that the Mew Mew Team will have power upgrades. New enemy, sorta like W.I.T.C.H., their outfits will still remain the same, it's just that they're more powerful, have elemental attacks, and possibly a new say.

Here's what I got-

Ichigo: since her animal is part of a cat family, you know the saying, "cats have nine lives" so maybe her spirit or elemental power will be life or energy.

Mint: bird, sky, wind. what more can i say?

Lettuce: dolphin, water, sea...again what more could i say?

Pudding: monkey? I'm stumped on that one.

Zakuro: grey wolf earth?

Also while I'm at it, I want to reply to everyone's reviews with a personal touch.

**Chibisaturn39 :_ Thank you for being the first person to review! And I'm not sure if I still have a mixed of american/japanese names now, but thank you for telling me about that in the first place! )_**

**Angelic Ichigo : _Thank you for giving me a plot idea of An Unknown Love Letter. I tweaked it a little bit, but plot credit will be given to you. For being my muse to that story._**

**Aku-san : _What's the difference between Mew Mew Power and Tokyo Mew Mew? At least in your opinion why you don't like it._**

**Zoeybell : _Lol. Thank you for your review._**

**Supernova523 : _Thank you for your compliment_**

**_Sakura Moon: _**

**_That is all! Though, I have a feeling that it might take me awhile to get a new story posted up since I haven't exactly finish my outline of it. So I need your help because well...two or more brains are better than one. _**

**_So email me aznsakuramoon yahoo dot com._**


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